Bear Valley, CA…The first Central Sierra Series race of the season was held under bright sunny skies, after being postponed twice due to heavy snowfall. Racers ages seven to sixteen showed off their speed skills, racing slalom Saturday and giant slalom on Sunday. Participating teams included; Bear Valley, Dodge Ridge, China Peak and Yosemite. Racers from Bear Valley shined on the top of the podium both days, taking first place in four of the seven age categories in both disciplines.

In the under ten ladies category, Addison Gwin, racing for Bear Valley at eight years old, (Murphys, Ca) took first place both days, with a margin of over seventeen seconds in the slalom. Jacqueline Manning of Dodge Ridge took second place, with Tayler Torosian of China Peak coming in third for the slalom on Saturday. In the GS on Sunday, Candice Carroll, racing for Bear Valley at nine years old, (Alameda, Ca) took second with Tayler Torosian of taking third.

In the under twelve ladies category, Eleri Colon, racing for Bear Valley at eleven years old, (San Francisco, CA) took first place both days. Colon is the recent of the Tecnica Blizzard and Keely’s Ski Camp “Girl on Fire” award for displaying her dedication and passion for skiing on and off the hill. In Saturday’s slalom race, Meara McCarthy of Dodge Ridge took second, with Sarah Azevedo of Dodge taking third.

The under fourteen ladies also had a dominant figure with Victoria Gast of Dodge Ridge charging her way to first both days, earning her the Rasmussen Golden Cowbell. The Cowbell is awarded to the top
female and male under fourteen, who throw down the fastest combined time for the entire weekend. In the slalom, Ciela Johnson, Dodge Ridge was second place and Alison Carter of Bear Valley took third. On Sunday the Giant Slalom had Regan Jackson of China Peak taking second and Carter on the podium again at third.

For the men’s under ten slalom Dodge Ridge swept the podium with Bobby Klaje in first, Kane Hall in second and Curtis Klaje in third. In the GS race, Charles Ferguson of China Peak took first, with Kane Hall of Dodge in second and Silas Booth of Dodge in third.

The under twelve men’s category had Bear Valley’s Nathanael Ridosko, (Livermore, CA) speeding his way into first in both disciplines with a four second lead. Laith Aryan of China Peak took second and Dodge’s Owen Bartholow placed third both days.

Another member of the Ridosko family ruled his age category, with Bear’s Ryan Ridosko winning the under fourteen slalom and GS. Ridosko also took home the Rasmussen Golden Cowbell award. Jakob Shawkey, (Angels Camp, CA) sped his way into second both days. The third place podium spot was taken by Zander Nichols of China Peak on , and Jeremy Rosoff of Dodge on Sunday.

Competitors and spectators alike enjoyed watching under sixteen racer Danny Kelsay of Dodge Ridge burn down the hill in his flame covered speed suit. You could hear the crowd’s excitement as everyone waited for his run. Kelsay dominated both days and also foreran for the younger racer’s course. In the Slalom event Matthew Cunanan skied into second with Maximillian Nichols taking third; both from China Peak.